Chief Warrant Officer (W3) (later Major) Frederick E. Ferguson entered the Army from Arizona as an enlisted man and received his Warrant Officer commission upon graduation from flight school in May, 1967. He was immediately assigned to Vietnam and served there until May 1968 in Company C, 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

During the action of Tet in 1968, CWO Ferguson distinguished himself through the rescue of a downed helicopter crew from a confined area within the city of Hue, Vietnam, while under intense enemy fire. For this 31 January 1968 action, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the first Army Aviator to be so honored in Vietnam and the first in modern Army Aviation history.

The Congressional Medal of Honor was presented to Mr. Ferguson by President Richard M. Nixon on the South Lawn of the White House on Armed Forces Day in 1969.

Later, Major Ferguson continued to serve Army Aviation as a member of the Arizona National Guard's 997th Aviation Battalion (CAC).